Many countries of the world have serious problems in feeding their people, and Israel is no exception. In developing a sound programme for the food and nutrition of any country information on the composition of its home-grown foods is of particular importance. The chemical composition and nutritive value of foods produced in Palestine have been investigated by Kovacs, Guggenheim & Kligler (1939) and Guggenheim & Bichowsky (1948), but their reports are incomplete. We present here a report on the analysis of over 300 samples of fifty-four fruits and vegetables collected in Jerusalem between November 1954 and September 1956. The nutrients determined were carotene, thiamine, riboflavin, nicotinic acid, ascorbic acid, calcium, iron, sodium and potassium. Calcium and iron are the only two minerals for which specified dietary allowances are recommended and in which human diets are often deficient ((U.S.A.) National Research Council, 1953), but the importance of sodium and potassium in therapeutic diets has recently been recognized ((U.S.A.) National Research Council, Fruits and vegetables furnish considerable amounts of nutrients to the Israeli diet. During 1949-54, from 207 to 237 kg/head were consumed yearly (Lvavi, 1955). Among the vegetables, tomatoes come first, constituting from 23 to 29% of the annual vegetable consumption. Cucumbers (I I-14%) come next and then carrots (6-10%) and cabbage (6-8%). These figures compare favourably with those for other countries in the Near East. According to the Second World Food Survey (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1952) the annual supply of fruits and vegetables per head in 1946-9 was 124 kg in Egypt, 108 kg in Iran, IOO kg in Iraq, 207 kg in Syria and 185 kg in Turkey. '952, 1954). METHODS Samples. All samples were purchased in the open market in Jerusalem. They represent fruits and vegetables as bought by the ordinary consumer. No information as to the genetic history of the fruits and vegetables could be obtained. Most of them are, however, not truly native, but were imported during the last 60 years from Europe or the United States. Whenever possible, the samples were analysed a few hours after purchase. Some samples were stored for from I to 3 days at 2 ' before analysis.
